The Journal of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

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interest in the topic out-of school (Pugh & Bergin, 2005). In practice though gifted students may be interested in topics which are not discussed at school so that they will need to be able to acquire, apply, and create knowledge and skills while working on their own problems (Fischer & Scharff, 1998). Increasingly, these processes are being acknowledged as important for in-school activities for all students and especially gifted students. The skills traditionally needed in school learning involve students learning to think in an abstract way, while the skills needed in out-of-school contexts have been related to learning with others in a more concrete way and in specific situations (Resnick, 1987). Both these types of learning situations require management, although traditionally learning in school activities may be managed by the teacher, while beyond school the learner will need to be self-managing and selfdirected in their learning. In a constructivist approach teachers need to assist students to be selfdirected learners while they engage in school activities where they are taught to manage their activity, as they access resources and people in the environment who can help them to reach their goals. Knowledge of self-directed learning The purpose of the study This interview study uses the student perspective to examine the epistemological beliefs of gifted elementary students about their knowledge of SDL. The views were collected of 10 gifted students in a metropolitan primary (elementary) school in South Australia. The main purpose of the study was to examine gifted elementary students’ knowledge and views of self-directed learning. Goals and hypothesis of the study The goals of the study were three-fold: 1. Identify how gifted elementary students describe SDL (knowledge and process); 2. Identify the attitudes to SDL of gifted students; and 3. Investigate whether there are differences in gifted students’ views of SDL related to whether it is carried out at school or out-of-school. The study explores the hypotheses that gifted students’ have well-developed views about the process of being self-directed, and recognise that they can be self-directed at home as well as at school. Method Participants Interviews were carried out with ten students (in years four and five) identified as gifted students on school-based assessments using Slosson Intelligence Test Primary (Erford, Vitali & Slosson, 1999). Six of the students were boys (mean IQ 151.7) and four were girls (mean IQ 143.7). The students had a mean age of 10.8 years. Instrumentation The interview Interviews about SDL were developed in order to gather information from gifted elementary students about their knowledge and beliefs related to SDL. Slosson Intelligence Test The Slosson Intelligence Test Primary’ (Erford, Vitali & Slosson, 1999) had previously been used in the school to select students as gifted to be involved in group activities designed to extend their abilities. This reasoning test is commonly used to select students for gifted programs or services in South Australian schools. Design and procedure The Principal of a DECS elementary school in South Australia was contacted to invite students assessed as gifted within the school in Year 4 and Year 5 to participate in the interview study. The parents of twenty-five eligible students were sent a letter of introduction, information sheet about the study and consent form. Completed consent forms from ten parents were returned to the school. Interviews were conducted in the school in Term 4 of the school year. Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011. 113
The World Council for Gifted and Talented Children Procedure Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the students to obtain information about the way gifted students viewed SDL. An interview schedule was used and individuals’ answers to questions were recorded on audio tape and transcribed. In the interview, students were asked about three main issues: (a) their knowledge of SDL; (b) their attitudes to SDL and (c) explanations of SDL at school and out-of-school. (see interview schedule in Appendix) Data analysis The 10 participants gave responses to all of the 22 interview questions. The responses were recorded on audio-tape and transcribed using each student’s ID code. The interview responses were analysed to identify themes and issues. Inter-rater reliability was calculated by giving to a colleague the questions and categories formed from the gifted students’ interview responses to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 18. These questions comprise 11 out of 22 questions (50% of the interview questions about SDL). There was agreement between the researcher and rater on 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 18. The percentage of agreement was calculated to be 82%. The themes were mapped to show interconnections between them and quotations were found to illustrate each one (Thomas, 2009). Results A Self-Directed Learning Theme Map was drawn to show the themes in the interview data and issues within the themes. Figure 1 shows the main themes and connections between each one (Thomas, 2009). Figure 1: Self-directed learning theme map, gifted students’ views of SDL. 114 Gifted and Talented International – 26(1), August, 2011; and 26(2), December, 2011.
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Book Reviews The World Council for
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Examining Opinions and Challenging
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Finally, many thanks go to Kevin La
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Name Full-time Gifted Class Gail* A
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Table 4: The results of the (2x2) t
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undertaking the unit, with many com
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Figure 1: Pre & post scores for ite
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The Journal of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children

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